WWE legend The Undertaker hits back at claims he ‘squashed’ CM Punk’s push at WrestleMania 29

The Undertaker has insisted he ‘was always business’ with CM Punk.

The two former WWE wrestlers had an intense on-screen rivalry going into WrestleMania 29, which turned personal in the build-up to the much anticipated showdown.

The Undertaker, real name Mark Calaway, was famous for his 21-match undefeated streak at the flagship show, which Punk tried to takedown at 20 victories in a row.

He ultimately failed before Brock Lesnar succeeded the year after, but has gone onto have an immensely successful career up until his recent absence from AEW following a controversial backstage altercation. 

Calaway spoke exclusively to Sportsmail’s Alex McCarthy to discuss Punk, and insisted he was ‘always good’ to work with inside the ring.

The Undertaker has insisted he always had a positive relationship with CM Punk

The two faced off in WWE at WrestleMania 29, with The Undertaker coming out victorious 

Now signed to AEW, Punk has been absent for over six months after a reported brawl backstage

‘He was great to work with,’ Calaway began. ‘I’m very proud of that match and we sat down and thought about ideas and everything.’

Rumours had circulated that the two didn’t get on outside the ring due to the match, which saw a red-hot Punk pinned just after 20 minutes into the fight.

Punk gained attention when he was involved in a reported brawl backstage at AEW’s All-Out pay-per-view in mid-2022 with The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega of ‘The Elite’ faction.

Fans had suggested that there were issues between the pair following the match in 2013

Punk was one of the most popular wrestlers in the company but The Undertaker continued his undefeated streak

AEW champion at the time, he stepped away from the company and is still yet to return.

Calaway however rubbished the rumours of a rift between he and the former WWE man, shutting down social media in the process.   

‘I had no beef with Punk, he was always business with me, hopefully I was with him,’ he said. ‘I’ve been told that I have some beef against him, social media… they tell me because I don’t read comments or follow it, but I have a lot of people that tell me. 

The Undertaker described Punk as ‘great to work with’ 10 years on from their famous bout

‘Supposedly I squashed his push and all of this but anybody who knows me – even if I didn’t like somebody, and I don’t dislike punk, that’s another rumour that I have disdain for him, I don’t, he was good with me and that’s all that matters – business is business, whatever’s best for business.

‘That’s one thing I did learn from Vince (McMahon, WWE major shareholder), whatever is best for business is what you do, so I can’t worry about what people who have no clue about our business think.

‘Everybody thinks they’re an expert but they really have no clue. It’s ridiculous online. Business has always been business and he was always business with me.’

Undertaker’s 1deadMAN SHOW comes to Las Vegas on Friday 24th March and Los Angeles on Friday 31st March. Tickets available now. WrestleMania 39 airs live on Peacock in the US and WWE Network everywhere else on April 1 and April 2. 

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